PoDuck - 18-2-2003 at 05:15
I am wondering if there is a common place to find phosphorus pentachloride (not a chemical supply house)
If not, I can get phosphorus trichloride as a dying agent, so how difficult would it be to make it from phosphorus trichloride and chlorine?
PCl3 + Cl2 => PCl5
madscientist - 18-2-2003 at 17:05
There is no common source of phosphorus pentachloride that I'm aware of.
It should be relatively simple to prepare phosphorus pentachloride from phosphorus trichloride and dry chlorine gas (dry by passing over concentrated
sulfuric acid). At most, you'll have to heat the phosphorus trichloride to get the reaction to proceed.
Care to share details about your source of phosphorus trichloride? It's such a useful compound that it would be great to learn of a reasonably
accessable source. 
PoDuck - 20-2-2003 at 12:26
Well, I guess I can only get just less than 2 liters of phosphorus trichloride. The woman I am getting it from has had it for a while, and I guess
she says she can't get it from the supplier anymore, but she doesn't use it so she said I could have it. She used to make cosmetics and
stuff out of her house, and I guess there was something she used to use it for. Sorry I couldn't be more help.
DDTea - 25-2-2003 at 19:03
Phosphorus Pentachloride is one of the byproducts when Chlorinating Phosphorus to make PCl3.
That is why you have to watch out for overchlorinating Phosphorus when making PCl3.